Alto Sax Scales Trainer

How to use it

Practice scales on the alto saxophone: the scale in music notation with every note named, a fingering diagram for each note, and a metronome with a click or the note itself. Major, melodic minor, harmonic minor, pentatonic and minor blues in all 12 keys, with patterns (3rds, groups, broken chords), swing, triplet and dotted rhythms, a drone, a speed ladder, a problem-spot loop, Auto and Random practice, an optional microphone tuner and a practice log.

1. 1Pick a scale type (Major, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor, Pentatonic or Minor Blues) and a key. Keys and notes are written pitch for alto sax; tick Show concert pitch to see what they sound like.
2. 2Tap any note on the staff to see its fingering. Where there is more than one way to finger a note (Bb, C, F#, high F), use the buttons under the diagram to switch.
3. 3Set the metronome: tempo (buttons, slider or Tap tempo), the rhythm (quarters, 8ths, 16ths, swing 8ths, triplets or dotted), 2/4, 3/4 or 4/4, and the sound: woodblock, beep, hi-hat, cowbell or the note itself. Turn on the drone for a steady tonic to tune against. Press Test sound to check your volume.
4. 4Pick a pattern: straight, in 3rds, groups of 3 or 4, or broken chords (1-3-5-8). The staff, the highlighted note and the fingering all follow it. To work on a problem spot, press Loop a section and tap its first and last notes.
5. 5Choose how to practice: This scale, Auto (all 12 keys one after another, or every scale type) or Random (each scale once, shuffled). Set the repeats, the get-ready seconds, the count-in and the speed ladder (start tempo, + BPM each repeat, target tempo).
6. 6Press Start (or the Space bar). After the countdown, play along: the note to play is highlighted on the staff and its fingering is shown. Use Pause, Restart, Next and Stop any time.
7. 7Want to check your tuning? Press Turn on tuner and allow the microphone. It shows the note you play (written alto pitch, or concert), how many cents sharp or flat it is and a green in-tune zone. You can set the A reference (430 to 450 Hz) and have it check each note against the scale while you practice.
8. 8Every scale you play through to the end is ticked in the Practice log. Press Mark clean when it went well to save your best clean tempo. Tap a square in the log to pick that scale; Reset log clears it after asking.

Fingerings are the common alto sax fingerings, with alternates where they are usually taught; your teacher may prefer others, and some horns differ (for example a high F# key). The notation, fingering drawings and all sounds are made by this page; no recordings or charts are copied. Start slowly and only speed up when every note is clean.

Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Your settings are kept in this browser's local storage (gnoup-sax-scales-v1) and your practice log in gnoup-sax-scales-log-v1, so they are there next time; Reset log deletes the log. Sounds are made live in your browser; turn your volume up, and the screen is kept on during practice where the browser allows it.

The tuner is off until you turn it on. Only then does the page ask to use your microphone, and it stops the microphone when you turn the tuner off or leave the page. The sound is analysed on your device a fraction of a second at a time to find the pitch; it is never recorded, saved or sent anywhere. On some phones, using the microphone can make the speaker quieter while the tuner is on.